National News Roundup

Calling education reform an essential part of any
economic-development strategy, the National Governors' Association and
the U.S. Agency for International Development last week met to discuss
aspects of American reform experiences that might be exported to Asian
and Near Eastern nations.

"We have no magic talismans to hand out to the rest of the world,"
Chester E. Finn Jr., a professor of education and public policy at
Vanderbilt University, said. "But there are some commonalities" of
successful reforms.

For example, he and others suggested, effective restructuring
efforts in the United States have focused on student performance, and
have involved parents and business leaders, as well as educators.

David W. Hornbeck, a former state superintendent of education in
Maryland, noted that school restructuring in Asia and the Near East
likely will require new resources. But, he said, schools must first ask
themselves what they want to accomplish and how they plan to do it
before seeking new funds.

In addition, noted Thomas Nicastro, chief of the human-resources
division of the aid's bureau for Asia, the Near East, and Europe,
countries can make major changes by redistributing existing resources
and by seeking funds from nongovernmental sources.

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